In my other life, I’m a teacher. I’m also a student, as I take college evening classes. I’ve learned a lot in the classroom that I’ve found equally applicable to gaming.

Before I go further, I would like to clarify that I compare players to college evening students. Evening students generally show up to class because they want to be there and they tend to participate more in the classroom. Evening classes are usually more informal and less taxing than day classes since the professor understands that evening students tend to have busy lives outside of the class (indeed, the professor is often arriving to class from his or her own day job). That said, I still feel I’ve learned a lot as a middle school teacher that I’d like to share. The following list is drawn from all of my experiences.

So, in no particular order:

1. Set clear rules and expectations. Stick to them.

Every school has a discipline process. At first glance, these rules seem clear cut (e.g. a first offense is a warning, a second offence is a detention, a third offense is an office referral). In practice, I’ve watched teachers (including myself) stretch out that first offense into four or five offenses. For example, if a student is talking, the teacher may give a general warning to the entire class, then issue a "friendly" warning to the student, then issue the formal "first offense warning," then ask the student if he really wants a detention, and then finally giving the detention. Next class, the student may find that his seat has been moved (yet another unofficial warning).

At the gaming table, I’ve seen some GMs (again, including myself) avoid character consequences when players make bad decisions. I’ve covered this in a previous column. Still, it’s worth repeating. If the player makes a decision that would draw a logical consequence given the tone and style of your campaign, you need to enforce that consequence. Otherwise, you risk losing that same tone and style.

If you set a starting time for the game, stick to it. If you say the game will start at 6 pm, and someone hasn’t arrived after a reasonable time (say, 6:15), start without her. If you always wait for everyone to make it, including the player who habitually shows up at 6:45, you’re going to find that players will stop making an effort to be there at 6. Late players should expect that you’ll start without them, and that they’ll have to play a game of catch-up once they get there. While it’s important to be respectful of a late player’s circumstances, you shouldn’t disrespect the players who made it on time.

Also, remember that "rules" are for the classroom and “expectations” are for the gamers. While a game session may resemble a classroom, it isn’t. A GM leads the group, but she only will only have as much authority as the players feel is reasonable. There’s a very big difference between "I’d like everyone to be here at 6 so we can get in four hours of gaming a session" and "I will start promptly at 6, whether you are here or not." Players will try to meet expectations, but they’ll resent rules.

2. Treat your players fairly.

One of the biggest lies any GM can say is “I treat all of my players equally.” You don’t. It’s simply impossible. In one of the classes I taught, I had a student who always, without exception, responded to a question with an answer calculated to draw laughs. Even when he didn’t know the answer, he’d raise his hand anyway. While I generally let my other students work through an answer if I call on them and they hesitate, I cut the "jokester" off at the knees if I felt he was just trying to be funny.

Also, even if you try not to have a "teacher’s pet," players are going to assume you do. They know that you won’t treat your girlfriend or boyfriend the same as everyone else. They realize that the player you consider a good friend away from the gaming table will probably be treated differently that the player you never see outside of the session. However, if you show too much favoritism to these players, you risk losing your credibility with the others.

It’s better to be up front and acknowledge this than to try and hide it. In my own campaigns, everyone assumes that I’ll cut slack for my wife. They also know that my wife hates to have her characters killed and would react badly if it happened. I spoke to her and the others about it and came up with a house rule that, if the PC should be dead according to the rules, then the player has the option of overriding that. If overridden, the PC is still removed from the campaign and cannot return for the rest of it (although the PC may return in a future campaign). This has the same effect as an actual PC death, but without the part my wife would rather not handle. The others readily agreed to it, as it reassured them that I would not "cheat" to keep her PC from dying.

3. You control the room.

The teacher is at the core of classroom management. You must maintain order at all times, because you are the one invested with that power. The players understand that you are the GM, and your word is law.

Those are powerful words, but in practice it’s easy to let vocal players run roughshod over a GM. I’ve seen GMs retract or amend encounters because a player found them unfair. I’ve seen vocal players interrupt other players because she just thought of something "kewl" she wants her character to do. I’ve seen players bring the game to a standstill for an hour while he argued with the GM over the proper interpretation of a rule on p.349, third paragraph. I’ve seen a player turn what was supposed to be a short personal encounter into an interminably long dialogue with the GM while the other players yawned. I’ve seen a player regularly interrupt a game because everyone at the table really needs to hear about that funny encounter he had at a restaurant three days ago.

Some GMs are afraid to exercise too much control for fear of alienating players. I know (and have been) a teacher in that same position, and the results are catastrophic. As a GM, it is your duty to ensure that the players enjoy the game you’re running. At minimum, they came to the table because they wanted to play the game; they expect you to run it for them. Don’t be afraid to shut down vocal players when warranted. The restaurant story will still be just as funny during a session break or after the session. An on the spot ruling on an obscure rule is perfectly acceptable, but be sure that you tell the offended player that you’ll read the rule again between sessions to make sure. Wrap up one-on-one encounters with a PC if it isn’t necessary to play out half an hour of dialogue, especially if there is an appropriate skill to use. Never let one player interrupt another; assure the vocal player that you’ll get back around to him.

4. Be Prepared.

Good teachers, even those who have been teaching the same subject for years, still prepare before each and every class. Being over-prepared is preferable to being under-prepared. Players can sense when you’re stretching material, and nothing bogs down a game more than when you’re simply playing for time (this is really where those vocal players from point 3 shine, when you are happy to kill a half an hour of game time over bargaining for the price of a rug).

The more you GM with a particular group, the better you are at gauging how much you need to prepare. Also, remember that a game session is not a class. If you’re scheduled to play from 6-10, but you only have enough material to get to 9, then there is no crime in stopping early. You can use this time to assess what’s going on, updating character sheets, tell that restaurant story, etc.

5. Don’t be afraid to amend the lesson plan.

Beginning teachers commonly make the mistake that if they intended to teach A, B, C, and D in a class, then they need to get through all four points. If they only get to C, then they feel like they failed.

I’ve seen GMs get bent out of shape if the players haven’t made it to the Castle of the Evil Overlord by the end of the session. Worse, I’ve seen GMs berate the players for moving too slowly. Let the players move at their own pace . If you don’t get to D today, you’ll get to it next time. Trust me, the players will be the first ones to let you know if things are moving too slowly. It’s much more difficult for them to protest if you’re moving too quickly, since they won’t have time to breathe. You’ll only realize that you’re moving too fast when the blank stares of your players become more frequent.

6. Give regular assessments.

In teacher-speak, an assessment is not necessarily a formal test; it is simply how the teacher gauges whether the material was successfully taught to the students. In other words, assessments grade the teacher as well as the students. In the classroom, this can be Q&A, small group discussions, a pop quiz, or a homework assignment. At the gaming table, assessments are crucial to the success of a campaign, especially if you’re worried about keeping a certain tone, mood, or style.

Assess the players while the game is going on. Are they engaged? Is there a player who is just going through the motions, oblivious as to why the PCs are in the dungeon in the first place? If so, take the time to catch that player up. If you were planning to run a gritty cyberpunk campaign where life is cheap and combat is deadly, then how much time did the players spend clowning around and not taking life seriously? Were your combats rough and hardcore, or did they resemble a Jackie Chan movie?

A word of caution: just as in the classroom, Q&A (Question and Answer) assessments in an RPG are not very accurate, especially when given at the end of a session. Players have a tendency to tell the GM what they think he wants to hear, and vocal players tend to take center stage. When you do ask questions, try to make them very specific. "Did you feel like you were going to lose your character in that last gunfight?" will garner much better answers than "How did you like the session tonight?"

Keeping Kosher

The GM is the campaign manager. It’s your duty to foster an environment in which the players can get the most out of their playing. Players appreciate fairness and they want your leadership (whether they admit it or not). Regularly assess how the game is going.

Good Gaming!